How to Grow Pumpkins

Planting advice for how to grow pumpkins, recommended varieties and pumpkin recipes.

Pumpkin

Curcurbita spp.

Talk about a triple threat: Toasted pumpkin seeds are a tasty toasted snack, the flesh makes for great pies and the rinds offer a canvas for Halloween artwork. Smaller varieties are now available, so carve out some space and let 'em grow.

If you grow pumpkins for cooking or baking, here's a rule of thumb: 1 pound of pumpkin flesh equals about 1 cup of cooked pumpkin.

Hardiness: Annual.

Planting advice: Plant four or five seeds 1 inch deep in an 18-inch-high mound of soil. Keep hills 5 feet apart for vining pumpkins and 3 to 4 feet for semi-vining types. After the seeds sprout, thin to the healthiest two or three seedlings.

Harvest tips: Ready to harvest in 100 to 110 days. Pick when they're a deep, solid orange color (for most varieties) and the rind is hard, usually late September or early October. Leave a 3- to 4-inch stem, which helps the fruit keep longer.

Featured Recipes

This family favorite is a combination of our favorite holiday flavors. With its flaky crust, creamy filling and crunchy topping, it's the perfect finale to a special meal.—Lyn Dilworth, Rancho Cordova, California

What to do with all those pumpkin seeds guests will be scooping out at your party? This yummy, microwave-easy recipe will have folks eating 'em up by crunchy handfuls!
Save a few for yourself before they're gone, suggests Iola Egle of Bella Vista, Arkansas.